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When I first approached this disc, I had almost convinced
myself that I probably would not like it. I am after all a keen admirer
of Tchaikovsky’s brilliant skill at orchestration. I did not feel that
such a wonderfully orchestrated work as the Fourth Symphony would transfer
well to a keyboard instrument. I was to be proved wrong. It is true that
there is much missing, but instead of just being missing, there is a lot
more which you can hear which is otherwise masked by orchestral clothing.

The arrangement here is by Sergei Taneyev, who was a
friend of the master and teacher of Glière, Scriabin, Medtner and
Rachmaninov. He was a significant composer in his own right. Incidentally,
when asked by the composer at its first performance what he thought of
the symphony, he was none too complimentary, saying
"… Although there were some superb bits in it … the first movement
is disproportionately long … The trumpet fanfares … make you think that
this is programme music Nevertheless I like the movement very much … The
Andantino is exceedingly nice … The scherzo is excellent; I don’t like
the trio which is like a dance out of a ballet. I think your variations
on the (the folk song which forms the subsidiary theme in the finale)
too slight and insufficiently interesting. One of this symphony’s failings
… is that in each movement there is something which recalls ballet music
…"

Whatever his misgivings, Taneyev makes a very successful
transcription of the symphony and the two pianists are thoroughly idiomatic
in conveying the emotional centre of the work, the first movement. Tchaikovsky’s
emotional state at the time was largely determined by his disastrous marriage
and its demise.

In the arrangement, there are many touching moments.
Some of Tchaikovsky's detailed harmonies sound quite different without
the colouring of the full orchestra.

The Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture has been
transcribed by Nadezhda Purgold, who was a pianist, but is perhaps better
known as Madame Rimsky-Korsakov. It is rather ironic that this reduction
to four hands, was done by the spouse of a musician who was responsible
for some of the most colourful compositions known. The sombre opening
sequence is made dark by the deep colours of the pianos and does not seem
in the slightest out of character. The more emotional climaxes of the
Montagues and Capulets fight scenes, where the searing trumpet is usually
to be heard soaring over the orchestral mayhem, misses some of the drama.
However the superlative playing of Goldstone and Clemmow offer a different
kind of drama.

We then lead on to the arrangements for two pianos of
Tchaikovsky’s Fifty Russian Folk Songs, each of which were written for
two pianos by the composer himself. Each song lasts less than a minute
in many cases and to some extent these foreshadow Bartók’s and
Kodaly’s work with Hungarian and Romanian folk music. This in no way diminishes
Tchaikovsky’s work in this area. Some of these tunes will be immediately
recognisable to those who know Tchaikovsky’s orchestral works reasonably
well.

The recording quality could be clearer, but is in no
way a handicap, and this could in any event be more to do with the church
acoustic. Highly recommended. Tracks 1, 3, 5 and 6 are commended for sampling.

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